Fifty kilometres north-east of Rome, following the eastern bank of the Tiber River and the Sabine Hills, lies the territory of Sabina. It is a magical land of castles, little towns connected by winding country roads, elegant restaurants and family run taverne, and breath-taking scenery wherever you go. Europe's oldest olive tree lives in the Sabina too (Canneto di Fara), at 2000 years old it still produces a heavy crop each year, not surprising as Sabina is famous for it's olive oil. Hard to believe it's only an hour from Rome...Sabina is an appealingly undiscovered area of Italy, which - although blissfully lost in time - is an exceptionally convenient area to visit with flights into Rome and Perugia from the UK offering convenience for travellers heading to these parts. The area, in the region of Lazio, offers splendid scenery with rolling, olive-clad hills and tiny, medieval hilltop villages. This part of central Italy has preserved its original rural character, and, not withstanding its proximity to Rome, is one of the least populated parts of the country. A wonderful time to visit is in spring when the countryside explodes in a riot of colour with yellow broom and fields of poppies and sunflowers punctuating the green hills, accented by the silver green of the olive trees which produce some of Italy's finest extra virgin olive oils.
Staying in Sabina offers the ardent traveller the best of two worlds; proximity to Rome and the delights of ‘living' in the country. The journey into Rome from Sabina is made simple by a well-established railway network with a frequent train service into Rome city centre. This year, from March to July, the lucky visitor can catch some of The Great Exhibitions that are running at various venues throughout the city of Rome whilst staying in an exceptionally pretty farm steading in Sabina.
Lorenzo Lotto from 2nd March - 12th June 2011. After the major monographic exhibitions devoted to Lorenzo Lotto's work in Venice in 1963 and in Bergamo, Paris and Washington in 1998, Rome is now preparing to host a tight retrospective covering every aspect of the art of this extraordinary painter who lived in Rome. The exhibition will cover the entire life and artistic career of the painter highlighting the poetic qualities of an artist who, though born in the 15th century, managed in a thoroughly original and independent fashion to reconcile the traditional elements of the great painting of his era with certain aspects that already herald the great age of the Baroque.Nazarenes, Romantics, Realism, Impressionism, Symbolism, Avant-Garde from the Städel Museum of Frankfurt from 1st April to 17th July 2011. This exhibition displays of one the richest and most prestigious collections of European old masters and modern art anywhere, providing an overview of European art history from the Nazarenes to the Romantics, from Realism to Impressionism, and from Symbolism to the Avant-Garde. The exhibition will include masterpieces by Tischbein, Koch, Corot, Monet, Degas, Renoir, Van Gogh, Cezanne, Böcklin and Feuerbach, and then on up to Moreau, Redon, Hodler, Munch, Beckmann, Ernst, Klee and Picasso.
Palazzo Farnese: from the Renaissance collections at the French Embassy from 17th December 2010 to 27th April 2011. On display at Palazzo Farnese are 150 masterpieces of the Renaissance such as paintings, sculpture, drawings, coins, tapestries and ceramics. The exhibition aims to illustrate the building's five hundred years of history from when it was commissioned in the sixteenth century by Cardinal Alessandro Farnese to its use over the last 135 years as the seat of the French embassy in Italy.
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Italians are way ahead when it comes to most things including food, fashion and art. But when it comes to sport, they are way ahead passion wise and its hard to rival.
Sicily Easter celebrations and processions are among the most famous and suggestive all over the world. Besides popular “I Misteri” processions in Trapani, attracting numerous visitors and tourists every year, even more symbolic are Easter events and celebrations held in Prizzi, a lovely hill town South of Palermo. Here, the traditional “Abballu de li Diavuli” (Dance of the Devils) is a singular dance performed on Easter Sunday by villagers wearing large and terrifying iron masks, red tunics and goatskins, who rampage through the village in a traditional struggle between good and evil. Led by Death himself dressed in yellow and bearing a crossbow, the Devils drag you from the crowd, force you to dance in the street, and finally bring you to a bar where they pour wine down your throat. They surrender only when Jesus and Mary statues finally meet and everybody celebrates drinking and eating at local bars. Don't you think this is way more enthralling then going on Easter egg hunts? 
